By Felix Ochieng Akech 

Kenya will halt sea shipments of avocados from October 20 to stop premature harvesting, to protect the country’s $160m avocado export industry, which depends on consistent quality to compete globally.

The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) said the restriction follows a nationwide survey showing that the current harvest volumes are too low and immature for sea freight, which demands longer shelf life, firmer fruit and higher volumes. The pause, said AFA, will protect farmers and Kenya’s export reputation by preventing immature fruit from flooding foreign markets.

AFA confirmed that only air shipments of Hass, Fuerte, Pinkerton, and Jumbo varieties will continue under strict inspection and traceability. Exporters and oil processors must seek inspection for existing stocks and oil processed before the closure. Oil made after October 20 will not be cleared for export. 

The authority will review the situation in January 2026 to decide when sea exports can resume, with seafreight normally getting go-ahead from February and March each year..

The end of harvesting for sea transport is a regular feature in avocado exporting, but has normally come later in the season, generally in November, with exporters pointing to climate change as the reason for the shortened season this year, causing fruits to mature more rapidly. However, the move to exporting immature fruits towards the end of the season has also brought complaints about the quality of Kenya’s avocados in international markets.

Avocados are climacteric fruits they reach maturity on the tree but ripen (soften and develop oil) after harvest. Exporters require fruit with adequate dry matter and oil content, typically verified in labs or by maturity testing.

However, sea shipments take longer, so only mature, firm fruit can survive the journey. Immature fruit sent early often arrives shriveled or rotted, leading to rejection and lost credibility in key markets such as Europe and the Middle East.

AFA’s survey found too few mature fruits left to justify sea export, which requires large volumes.

Air freighters can send consignments of as little as one to two tonnes, but sea freight requires filling a container of 23 tonnes. Once the volume of mature fruits is falling, towards the end of the season, this can push exporters into gathering sub-optimal fruits to complete container loads.

Stopping these large shipments now, while allowing closely inspected smaller shipments of remaining fruits, prevents premature picking and gives trees time to recover helping farmers achieve better yields in the next season.

The reactions to the early closure were mixed from avocado growers in Rongo and Homabay this week: most understood the logic behind the ban, but many feared losing short term income.

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“Last year, my buyers rushed us to pick early for sea export, and the fruit didn’t ripen well. We lost a lot,” said Junior Aloice, a smallholder from Homabay “If this rule stops that and helps us get better prices later, I’m for it.”

Others, like Jane Akinyi, who sells to a local processor in Rongo, called for more guidance on maturity testing. “We don’t have tools to check if the fruit is ready. If AFA can help us test maturity and link us with buyers using air freight, that will help.”

Normally, extension officers or farmers’ pack houses assess maturity, with managers we spoke to supporting the early seafreight closure.

“If we destroy our reputation with poor quality fruit, we all lose,” said Walter Owino, a packhouse manager in Homabay. “This closure gives us time to prepare for the next season properly.”